Hermes Stores No Longer Taking Birkin Orders?

MemberThread Starter

People in this forum have been saying birkins are hard to get. I did not know how difficult until I visited the Hermes Madison store today. Before entering the store, I knew I would not be able to find my dream bag (specific size, color, leather, and hardware combination), and I was prepared to be on a long waitlist. To my surprise, the SA refused to take orders, and would not even agree to give out availability information over the phone. The only suggestion that he had was for me to drop by the store often and try my luck with whatever would be available at the time.

Did the SA tell the truth? Is it possible that he has some birkins hidden in the back and only offers them to his "choice" clients who carry Hermes bags or are not colored?

A few days ago, I saw a thread by a fellow pFer who drove hours to visit a Hermes store, but ended up feeling very upset after having been ignored by the SAs there. Similarly, I was ignored at the Madison Hermes store. Now, I can definitely appreciate how Oparah felt when she was mistreated at the Hermes London store. Unlike the SAs at the other designer handbag stores nearby, the SAs' attitude at Madison Hermes is shamefully descriminatory. I was more disappointed at the SAs' behavior than not getting a Hermes bag at all. I wonder if any of you also experienced discrimination at the Hermes store?

SofaKing PuertoRican

R U nuts!!! I'm Puerto Rican and I get the upmost respect from the people at that store. Nonetheless the people that I know that shop there along with me are not " Quote on Quote" White, what are you talking about discrimination?

You can't just walk in there and expect them to hand you a Birkin ya know. And what are you talking about Opera for? When she got there the store was closing, they can't just let her in after closing hours because she's Opi, com'on don't say that about the people that work there.

030401

People in this forum have been saying birkins are hard to get. I did not know how difficult until I visited the Hermes Madison store today. Before entering the store, I knew I would not be able to find my dream bag (specific size, color, leather, and hardware combination), and I was prepared to be on a long waitlist. To my surprise, the SA refused to take orders, and would not even agree to give out availability information over the phone. The only suggestion that he had was for me to drop by the store often and try my luck with whatever would be available at the time.

Did the SA tell the truth? Is it possible that he has some birkins hidden in the back and only offers them to his "choice" clients who carry Hermes bags or are not colored?

A few days ago, I saw a thread by a fellow pFer who drove hours to visit a Hermes store, but ended up feeling very upset after having been ignored by the SAs there. Similarly, I was ignored at the Madison Hermes store. Now, I can definitely appreciate how Oparah felt when she was mistreated at the Hermes London store. Unlike the SAs at the other designer handbag stores nearby, the SAs' attitude at Madison Hermes is shamefully descriminatory. I was more disappointed at the SAs' behavior than not getting a Hermes bag at all. I wonder if any of you also experienced discrimination at the Hermes store?

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Hi. I can understand your disappointment. I received horrible treatment in the Madison store. At one point when I was trying to buy a hippo lock for my kelly, the rude SA who was "helping" me saw two of her friends walk in and she literally left me in mid sentence to go chat with them. They gave her this weird look and told her, "we'll talk to you after you finish helping her." And that wasn't even the worst part.

Suffice it to say however, as far as getting on the list, most stores are difficult. Especially the Madison Ave store. I think that is because the list of people in that area desiring birkins is HUGE. And plus they want to maintain a certain level of demand. However, from what I have experienced, most Hermes stores are not honest about everything they have on hand. They WILL "lie" especially about their birkin inventory. Mainly that is because they want to keep them for locals, or they are tired of people asking about birkins, or the bags have been SOed, or in some cases it CAN be racial. Contrary to what some might believe.

Anyway, good luck on your search. Don't let that experience turn you sour on Hermes period. I didn't. And now I have a great relationship with an SA in ATL.

And I think it was the Paris store that turned Oprah away. Janet Jackson recently received excellent service at the London store from what I understand.

P.S. Bagg you can't use your experiences to judge how they treat everyone. And it's not very polite to ask someone who feels they were racially mistreated if they are nuts. No, she can't just walk in there and expect to get a birkin. We all know that, but either way, it's still about how they TREAT you when they turn you down or when you are shopping period.

Resistance is Futile

WoW, Christiflora!!!! I'm so sorry you had a less than stellar experience at the store.......personally, I've called that store before and have visited and each time I've had nothing but a wonderful experience....granted I haven't asked for a Kelly or a Birkin right off the bat (and probably no-one really should in ANY store unless you already have an on-going relationship). But I have purchased a Trim, small leather goods, scarves and jewelery without a problem and most of it over the phone!

Guh.

Hi, CF, sorry you had a bad experience at the Madison store. like nathansgirl (but with a lot less H experience ) i believe that there are some stores that do tend to be less customer savvy than others (i think there's that thread on the palm beach store). i have certainly had mixed experiences at hermes LV and SCP but also good ones there as well. and i have had a positive experience at KOP hermes (robyn the manager is very nice!) and i've never been there in person (i've gotten a bearn). i don't have nearly as much experience as others here but i've gathered that different stores have different policies. we can't generalize and say that all hermes SAs are bad, nor can we say they are all good either, like most things there are the good and the bad. hopefully you will have a more positive experience. don't let it sour you on Hermes. like NG said it's huge demand for something so some folks do take advantage of it.

i've always been a kelly girl (still need to get that first one) cos honestly i didn't think i would ever be lucky enough to get a birkin but when the store in charlotte opened recently i was lucky enough to ask and get one on the spot. luckily they had a plentiful supply and so were happy to help me out. actually one of my friends was surprised, he said "what about all the people who are on the wait list?" he thought it was kind of strange that you couldn't just call in and have one shipped to you. but i understand that since the store was opening they wanted to let the local people get first dibs. who knows all the rules about the waitlist? i think that perhaps they are worried about resellers.

Supreme bag lover!

I have been to the Madison Ave store. Lived in NYC for a long, long time. Some of the SAs are really rude and some are very nice. Let's just say that the service I received 7-8 years ago was very bad. Recently, it has been more pleasant.

To be fair, I think regardless of race or store location or even how wealthy you are, the SAs will give the same initial standard response about "closed list" especially if you just walk in and ask for a kelly or a birkin bag that is not on display.

Exceptions would be if you are a regular client or you never know, you struck up a conversation with one and they like you!

Case in point, my best friend's DH went into the store one day (in London) thinking he can just go in and get one for my friend. Him, being this big honcho from a Wall St. firm, he thought he can just wave his black Amex card and the SAs will scramble and get one for him from the stockroom. Let's just say that we still laugh about that incident to this day. However, there is a happy ending to this story - my best friend called me and I called my SA and about 6-9 months later, my friend got her black birkin.

SofaKing PuertoRican

and Bagg, just because the staff doesn't discriminate against a specific person doesn't mean they can't do it to someone else. I believe your logic is severely flawed.

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I have spent significantly amount of time at the MA store and have observed how they interact and treat people. No one discriminates against anyone in that store. I think using the word "discrimination" is a bit out of line in this one. It's almost as if she is saying they are racists.

Over the rainbow~~~

Christiflora-I am sorry to hear what you experienced at Madison Ave. store...In NYC store, there are incredibly helpful/friendly SAs, but only very very small number of (maybe 1~2) SAs are just not nice.

I had ONLY one extremrely offensive experience in that store. She was one of the older SA in there. I felt like I was bothering her, because I wanted to buy something. After talking to her like 10 seconds, I was afraid of asking her to show me a scarf. So, I decided to leave the store. But other than that one SA, I can't be happier with NYC SAs' service! They are very helpful and friendly!!!

There are members here who shop in NYC store. They are amazingly sweet and trying to help other members. They might be able to help you & give their SA name...

030401

I have spent significantly amount of time at the MA store and have observed how they interact and treat people. No one discriminates against anyone in that store. I think using the word "discrimination" is a bit out of line in this one. It's almost as if she is saying they are racists.

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It's out of line for you to declare that they don't discriminate. That is a bunch of bull. Just because they may treat YOU well doesn't mean they treat everyone that way. And you aren't in that store 24/7 so you DON'T see how they treat EVERYONE.

SofaKing PuertoRican

DISCRIMINATION is a harsh word. If they didn't help thats one thing, but to outright accuse someone of being rasists without knowing, thats bad. There are people that walk in there everyday from all parts of the world.

The Garden of Secret

People in this forum have been saying birkins are hard to get. I did not know how difficult until I visited the Hermes Madison store today. Before entering the store, I knew I would not be able to find my dream bag (specific size, color, leather, and hardware combination), and I was prepared to be on a long waitlist. To my surprise, the SA refused to take orders, and would not even agree to give out availability information over the phone. The only suggestion that he had was for me to drop by the store often and try my luck with whatever would be available at the time.

Did the SA tell the truth? Is it possible that he has some birkins hidden in the back and only offers them to his "choice" clients who carry Hermes bags or are not colored?

A few days ago, I saw a thread by a fellow pFer who drove hours to visit a Hermes store, but ended up feeling very upset after having been ignored by the SAs there. Similarly, I was ignored at the Madison Hermes store. Now, I can definitely appreciate how Oparah felt when she was mistreated at the Hermes London store. Unlike the SAs at the other designer handbag stores nearby, the SAs' attitude at Madison Hermes is shamefully descriminatory. I was more disappointed at the SAs' behavior than not getting a Hermes bag at all. I wonder if any of you also experienced discrimination at the Hermes store?

Click to expand...

sorry to hear abt this negative experience....i do not know how some SA's could be rude toward potential buyers,,however, not all SA's are polite..i recently shopped at the H store in bellagio las vegas and had really wonderful service..although i didnt get a birkin, i was able to share my questions and thoughts to my sa abt getting on that list..throughout my whole conversation with my new sa, she treated me very well even though that was the 1st time she worked with me.. she politely told me that i couldn't be on the waiting list for now but that she would call when it opens up again... i am very satisfied with my experience at the H store and hope that the next time you set foot in that store that the treatment would be a lot better...

Resistance is Futile

Maybe "discrimination" is the wrong word to use here, girls. I happen to think they don't "discirminate" and I'm not a regular customer but that's just my opinion. What CAN happen (and this does happen in every store) is that you might get an SA who is not having a good day (sad but true) or has had it with people who walk off the street asking for the iconic Birkin.

Why don't we take the word "discriminate" out of the equation because I really don't think it's applicable since it's a matter of perception anyway.

030401

DISCRIMINATION is a harsh word. If they didn't help thats one thing, but to outright accuse someone of being rasists without knowing, thats bad. There are people that walk in there everyday from all parts of the world.

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It's not bad if it's the truth.

And discrimination comes in many forms. It can be based on race. It can be based on gender. There have been many discussions on here about how men sometimes get better service than women in Hermes. It can also be discrimination based on something stupid like whether you already own an Hermes or not. There have been discussions on here about how sometimes, even if you don't have a relationship with a store, if you go in with an Hermes, you can get better service than other people. Especially if you are carrying an exotic Hermes bag.

Guh.

hi ladies, i looked at the first post again and i didn't see any allegations about racism. i think she she said the SAs were discrimatory she meant "discriminating" as in picky versus racist. that's what i think IMHO.

and it's not just hermes, all sorts of stores have similar issues. i remember being in Nordies (i was using a burberry bag) and i remarked that some burberry barrettes were expensive and the SA said, "well, it's burberry" my friend i was with was really upset that she used a snide tone and said "yeah, she knows, she's carrying a burberry bag." he was much more upset about it than i was!

it's true, some SAs do have bad days and are probably tired of people asking them for birkins. still... if you see a rude SA, act like elaine on seinfeld with the soup nazi and say "NEXT!"